The Man with Two Brains
A widowed neurosurgeon’s bizarre search for an ideal partner collides with mad science, marital treachery, and a murderous Vienna mystery.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- zany
- irreverent
- macabre
- cult movie night
- comedy double feature
What critics said
Critics generally found the film uneven but frequently funny as an inventive spoof of mad-doctor horror, helped by Steve Martin's comic energy.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Hfuhruhurr's experimental neurosurgery, Necessiter's laboratory, and the Elevator Killer parody horror-film conventions through absurd comic escalation.
The plot centers on Hfuhruhurr's discovery of a living female brain and his attempts to give it a new physical host.
The cranial screw-top technique, brain surgery, and body-swap premise make anatomy and neurosurgery recurring sources of comic grotesquerie.
Hfuhruhurr's attraction to Dolores conflicts with his attachment to the female consciousness he encounters in Vienna.
Films like The Man with Two Brains, and why
The Jerk
shares broad physical comedy, surreal comic invention, and an eccentric romantic premise
Young Frankenstein
shares mad scientist parody, science fiction absurdity, and irreverent body-based humor
Re-Animator
shares outrageous science fiction comedy, body transformation, and campy genre spoofing
Death Becomes Her
shares romantic farce, grotesque comic escalation, and heightened black humor
Movie Details
- Director
- Carl Reiner
- Release Date
- 1983-06-10
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 6.2 / 10 (504)
Cast
- Steve Martin
- Kathleen Turner
- David Warner
- Paul Benedict
- Richard Brestoff
- James Cromwell
- George Furth
- Peter Hobbs
- Earl Boen
- Bernie Hern
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Man with Two Brains about?
- A widowed neurosurgeon’s bizarre search for an ideal partner collides with mad science, marital treachery, and a murderous Vienna mystery.
- What is The Man with Two Brains like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Man with Two Brains as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Man with Two Brains violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in The Man with Two Brains as moderate.
- What did critics think of The Man with Two Brains?
- Critics generally found the film uneven but frequently funny as an inventive spoof of mad-doctor horror, helped by Steve Martin's comic energy.
- Which films are like The Man with Two Brains?
- Films with a similar feel include The Jerk, Young Frankenstein, Re-Animator, and Death Becomes Her.
- How long is The Man with Two Brains?
- The Man with Two Brains runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Man with Two Brains?
- In United States, The Man with Two Brains is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
